Sin. (gxg)

Prologue

I was 14 years old the first time I fell in love. It was the summer before my freshman year of high school, on one of the hottest days I can remember. All the windows in my bedroom were open. The sheer curtains rippled with the breeze and the sounds of unfamiliar voices wafted into my room.

    I dragged myself out of bed long enough to watch the moving truck back into the driveway of the house across the street. A silver hatchback pulled up out front and a family of four piled out of the car. The parents greeted the truck driver while two kids – a boy and a girl – started unloading their bags onto the curb. They both looked to be about my age.

    Propping my elbows on my windowsill and resting my chin on my hands, I watched them go back and forth from the car to the house to the truck and back again. My eyes always seemed to gravitate towards the girl.

    She had fiery red hair that cascaded down to her midback like a molten waterfall. She was laughing with her dad – a tall, skinny man with thick-rimmed glasses and cropped red hair. Her mom instructed them to gather together for a photo. The brother positioned himself between the girl and the dad while the mom recruited help from the truck driver. The driver signaled the family to squeeze closer together on the front steps. He held up the camera and counted down from three.

    When he reached one, the family released big, happy smiles and I found myself smiling with them. The girl's eyes drifted up from the camera and to my window, her gaze connecting with mine.

    I dropped down, crouching out of sight, silently praying that she didn't see me. I counted to twenty in my head before slowly and carefully peaking over the windowsill. To my relief, the family had moved on and resumed unpacking. The girl continued to laugh with her brother, her focus elsewhere. I was safe.

    For now.

~

Two days later, the family from across the street knocked on our front door to introduce themselves. They brought an apple pie and my parents invited them inside.

    Our parents exchanged names and then introduced us to one another. I stayed silent – I was always shy – but the girl and her brother seemed to like the attention.

    Up close you could see they were twins. Not completely identical but close enough. They shared the same almond-shaped eyes and high cheekbones. Their fair skin was peppered with freckles. I couldn't help myself from staring at their bright green eyes – so captivating in contrast to their hair. Their entire family was stunning.

    Her name was Chloe Palmer and she was the most beautiful girl I had ever met. And we became instant friends.

~

For the remainder of that summer, we were inseparable. At first, it was the three of us. We would ride our bikes all over town, making a routine of going to the bakery, then the lake, and then we would eat dinner at each other's houses. Eventually, her brother grew bored of us and preferred the company of his video games.

    On nice weathered days, we would raid the 7-Eleven for all the good snacks and drinks and spend hours by the lake. We would talk about anything and everything. No topic was off-limits.

Her favorite flavor of potato chips was BBQ and she only liked the light blue Gatorade. She was afraid of heights but begged me to buy her a ticket for the Ferris Wheel at the summer carnival. She was left-handed and her favorite color was periwinkle. She was extremely ticklish, especially behind her knees. She loved sports – primarily soccer, but she played softball and tennis, too.

By the time I came home and collapsed into bed, my mind and heart were full of her. I would dream of her almost every night and I would wake up to her yelling my name from the front lawn almost every day. Sundays were the only days she was never home.

    Her dad was Reverend Hank Palmer down at Grace Avenue, one of the churches that were scattered throughout town. My parents weren't religious, we never spoke about God or Heaven or Hell, but I knew enough to know I disagreed with the beliefs. But that never got in the way of our friendship. Until one day, it did.

    That summer was life-changing. Secrets were whispered in confidence in blanket forts and friendship bracelets were worn like badges of honor. We shared clothing, books, and music. We were never apart for long. Our parents would even joke about how we couldn't exist without each other.

It took the entire summer for us to form that rock-solid bond between us. But it only took a few seconds – and one kiss – to ruin everything.